


Origins

by SavageDarling



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: ... - Freeform, F/F, Okay so no depiction of violence but mentions of it, anyway enjoy the angst, because we all know what Broomhead did
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-16 15:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16956687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavageDarling/pseuds/SavageDarling
Summary: Hecate and Pippa have much to work through and much to think about. This is based off of the worst witch winter fluff 2018 thingy. The prompt was ice skating and now I have so much more on this story I want to write so here it goes.





	1. Hiccup! Pipsqueak!

At 14 Pippa had convinced Hecate to come away from the school with her. She needn’t bring anything but a willingness to trust Pippa. Hecate did not protest, would never have protested. 

“You mustn’t let go,” Hecate said sternly. Her hand grasped tightly to Pippa’s muted pink coat. 

Pippa smiled down at Hecate. Her cheeks matched her coat and she could not help the chuckle that slipped from her throat. She stared as Hecate focused on the frozen lake beneath their feet. “Never,” she breathed out, not caring to know if Hecate had heard her.

Except Hecate had heard the word, a ghost of a whisper of something she couldn’t quite touch on. A moment she did not yet have words for- and would not have words until a decade later. When her father’s death had meant her mother’s rebirth. How her mother had blossomed before Hecate’s own eyes and all but abandoned her.

At 24 years of age she’d seen her mother’s hand graze a woman’s arm slowly, moving almost the way she spoke. She’d watched her mother-her very sober mother-waltz back over to their table in the dimly lit restaurant and say, “Don’t expect me home for dinner Hecate.”

At 24 her mother had helped her find the words after all. The most prevalent was love; lust was a mere after thought in her mind. But at 14 she had not had the words to realize she loved Pippa, lusted Pippa years later in the way teenagers did such things.

Pippa had not broken her promise. She hadn’t let go, even when Hecate had slipped to the point that falling was inevitable. Pippa had just squealed, “Hecateeeeeee!” Then as they both fell onto the cold ice of the lake it was Hecate that broke Pippa’s fall, Hecate that caused her to emit a sound almost like a mouse.

Pippa pressed firm hands against the frozen lake, shook out her hair, and looked down at a very wide eyes Hecate. Hecate had not known then, as her breath caught in her throat and a hiccup bubbled its way out, that Pippa had meant to kiss her. 

“Hecate has the hiccups. Hey!” Pippa had exclaimed. “Hecate Hiccup! I like the sound of that. Your nickname shall now be Hiccup.”

Hecate had rolled her eyes and said, “Well then it’s only fair that I return the favor. Lets see,” Hecate thought on a name for a moment before continuing, “Oh yes. I’ve got one. Pipsqueak Pentangle.”

As the two girls finally stood Hecate reached for Pippa’s arm. Before she could even look up Pippa had pressed chapped lips against her cheek. “I love it Hiccup.” 

At 16 Pippa had still never broken her promise. She’d never let go, and Hecate always wondered why. At 16 Miss Broomhead had come into Hecate’s life, taken over Hecate’s life, broken Hecate’s life. She’d slowly etched herself into pieces of Hecate. No more silvers or reds, only black. That was the proper attire of a witch. Hecate had to spend most of her free time perfecting the transference spell and practicing potions. She must not waist time on frivolous things.

It was not till later in the year that Pippa had become one of those frivolous things. Pippa and a broomstick water skiing display which Hecate had hidden quite well from Miss Broomhead. But the woman had eventually found out. Hecate had done many things, watched many things continue that she did not wish to for she hadn’t much of a choice, but her line was drawn at Pippa. 

Pippa who had banged on her door for hours, Pippa who had walked into class puffy eyed for weeks, Pippa who had begged her to explain why, that was the pain Hecate had brought down on Pippa. But any of that was better than a hand wrapped tightly around a thin arm. Emotional pain had to be better than the fact that Hecate flinched every time she heard a loud noise, saw a flash of light. 

At 46 Pippa had not broken her promise. She’d held Hecate tight and hadn’t let go. Not even after Hecate was sure the hug was not necessary. It was she who let go again, never Pippa. So here they stood, a year later, much to be said about the unfrozen lake that Pippa had tossed a potion bottle into right before Hecate’s eyes.

The lake had frozen the moment the bottle had become submerged. Hecate had simply raised an eyebrow. Pippa had waved her hand and suddenly the two of them were wearing pairs of skates. “Lets go!” Pippa had said rather cheerfully. 

Hecate stood in a long flowing A-line, black dress. She pulled slightly at the fabric near her waist. “I can’t.” Hecate had stated, coolly. Her hair, which was down for a change, fell around her face. 

“Of course you can,” Pippa had said, a laugh on the edge of her words. “There is no one here to see you do such things. Except me of course.”

Hecate sighed, made no move to follow Pippa onto the ice. “You misunderstand me Pippa. I can’t.” She said the words more fervently this time, punctuating each word carefully.

Pippa eyed her carefully, going over what she said in her head a few times. Finally, she held out her arm. “Then I’ll help you. It’ll be like old times Hiccup.” She’d practically whispered the words, but Hecate had heard them all the same. 

She’d gripped tightly to an outstretched, pink clad arm. As they made their way onto the ice she’d glanced at Pippa, the words rang through her head and left her lips before she could stop them. “You mustn’t let go.” 

Pippa had not responded and Hecate assumed she must not have heard her speak. They skated for a bit, talking and laughing. Then a bump in the ice caught Hecate’s skate and she went tumbling down, hair sprawling around her. She went to catch herself, tossing magic out in front of her. Except, she didn’t fall. A strong arm wrapped around her waist and her hand still gripped tight to a pink clad arm.

She stared at Pippa, eyes wide. Pippa had smiled a small sort of smile. “I told you never, once upon a time Hiccup.” 

Pippa had pulled her tighter, arm still around her waist. Hecate had put her hands against Pippa’s shoulders. She felt the fabric with her fingers and let the words sink in. “I don’t want to let go either,” Hecate whispered.

“Do you mean it?” Pippa had asked, breath falling between them. 

She’d watched the way Pippa’s eyes searched her for answers she hadn’t yet been able to give her. She closes her yes, gives herself a moment before saying, “I never wanted to let you go Pipsqueak, never.” 

Hand still strong against her waist Pippa had shaken her head. “Then why, Hecate, why?”

The answer hung at the back of her throat, cold and rough. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes and she went to speak, no sound emitting from her mouth. “I can’t, Pippa,” she finally choked out. 

Pippa had moved away then, something akin to anger flashing in her eyes. “I haven’t asked you for much Hecate Hardbroom. All I want is to know why you left me?” The space between them grew, but Pippa’s hand stayed against Hecate’s waist. 

Hecate had not known just how to respond, chest constricting of its own accord. “You deserve,” she’d started to say. 

However, she was not allowed to finish her sentence. Pippa pressed firmly against Hecate’s waist and interrupted her. “Do not presume to continue to tell me what I do and do not deserve. Why do you presume you know what I need better than I myself.” 

Hecate had not been able to say anything back, emotions she’d tried very hard not to acknowledge bubbling their way back to the surface. She’d transferred away then; back to the comfort of her own two feet, free of skates, on the hard ground. 

“Hecate Hardbroom!” Pippa had exclaimed not a moment later. Just then, the lake had unfrozen beneath Pippa’s feet and she had not had time to react. She let out a loud squeak and fell beneath the surface of the unfrozen lake. 

Hecate had moved without thought then. She’d transferred to where Pippa was under water and transferred them both back to dry land. Pippa coughed a couple times and spit out a bit of water. Hecate moved her hand over them both, drying them instantly. “I’m sorry Pippa,” Hecate had sighed.

Pippa, standing on skates on the dry land sunk a bit, falling even shorter than she usually was. She placed a hand against Hecate’s shoulder. “I don’t want your apology,” she said. “I just want you to be honest with me.” 

“I’m trying to protect you Pippa, just as I did then. You never seemed to be able to see the danger you put yourself in.” Hecate said the words harshly and did not let her face show any of the emotions she felt. 

Tears fell on Pippa’s face. “Why, Hecate? What were you trying to protect me from?” Pippa’s chest shook with a sob that Hecate could not help but feel was all her fault, was definitely all her fault. 

And it was Hecate thought it was her fault. “You don’t understand Pippa.” She’d exclaimed, voice breaking. Hecate places firm hands on Pippa’s arms.

Pippa is having absolutely none of what Hecate is saying though. Voice rough from sobs bubbling their way out of her throat, Pippa exclaims, “Then help me understand Hecate.”

“I couldn’t let her hurt you. She’d have hurt you Pippa.” Hecate had whispered, voice slow and unsteady. 

Pippa searches her face, moves a hand to cup a cool cheek. They stay that way a moment, Hecate’s hands gripping tight to Pippa’s upper arms and one of Pippa’s hands on Hecate’s shoulder the other on her cheek. “Who, Hecate?”

It takes her a moment to breath a name that she has not breathed in decades. “Broomhead,” Hecate whispers.

And Pippa is looking at her completely different now, face softening. Hecate’s eyes stinging with tears she would not let herself cry. “You never talked about her,” Pippa had said finally. 

“I didn’t want to bother you with any of it.” Hecate’s voice came out much calmer than she herself was. 

Pippa pulled Hecate into herself then until both her arms were wrapped tightly around Hecate’s neck. She pressed her face firmly into long, dark tresses. “You were never a bother Hiccup, never.”

Hecate breathes then, heavily. “She did things, Pippa, unspeakable things. I couldn’t image if she did any of them to you.” 

Pippa pulls back slightly then, rests her forehead against Hecate’s and whispers “I would have stood up for myself, for both of us.”

It is Hecate, surprisingly, who closes the distance between them. It is Hecate who pressed red lips to pink and takes in the taste of Pippa’s lip-gloss. It is Hecate who moves her hands to Pippa’s waist to pull her closer. It is Pippa who pulls back, finally, hands in Hecate’s hair, makeup smeared, and breath shallow. It is Hecate who speaks first, “I love you Pipsqueak. I always have. It’s why I left.”

The unsaid part is that she didn’t leave really she just left Pippa, but they both know what she means to say. Pippa places a firm hand against the back of Hecate’s neck, goes to pull her in, and whispers, “No more leaving Hecate, no matter what you think.”

“Ever?” Hecate had said as a question, voice wavering.

“Ever, my love. No more leaving on either of our parts.” Pippa had pulled them back together then into a much awaited kiss. 

As they pulled away a second time Hecate spoke, voice steady again and strong. “If we are to move forward in this relationship I must inform you that my mother is still very much alive.”

Pippa had tilted her head then and replied, “That isn’t big news Hecate. My parents are both very much alive. I’ll be spending holiday with them and my siblings.” 

Hecate had breathed out then. “Yes I understand Pipsqueak. The news is not that she is alive. It is that she wishes to meet you.” Dark eyes met light a moment later and the implications of what Hecate had said finally seeped their way into Pippa’s mind.


	2. Hardbroom Estates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vera has been dying to meet Pippa. The dinner does not go according to plan and Broomhead is brought up. Mentions of what may have transpired between Broomhead and Hecate(mentions of past abuse are prevalent in that section).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Life has been super busy! Anyway hope you enjoy!

“She won’t be the way you might remember her,” Hecate whispers as she knocks on the front door of the Hardbroom estate. 

Hecate placed a hand against the small of Pippa’s back as a way of comfort. Pippa fiddled with her hands and let her body naturally lean into Hecate’s. “That’s good,” she said, “Because from what I remember she wasn’t very pleasant.” Pippa tries a smile in Hecate’s direction.

Hecate, eyes wide, does not know how to respond. She looks at Pippa a moment before going to knock again. A moment before her hand reaches the door it flies open and a woman Pippa cannot believe is Hecate’s mother stands before them. Her hair only reaching the tips of her shoulders falls in loose curls. Her face much brighter in complexion than Hecate’s, but her stature was much the same. And her eyes, deep and dark just like Hecate’s. Pippa got lost in how similar their eyes were when the woman cleared her throat and said, “Are the two of you going to stand outside all day or come in?”

Hecate grumbled, “We’re coming,” at her mother as she ushered Pippa through the door, hand still on her lower back. 

Even with Hecate’s mother’s welcoming spirit there was a tension that Hecate could not shake, a feeling like a too tight corset pulling at her skin. The house, which she had only stepped foot in four times over the last two decades, suffocated her with all the memories it held. Not only of Hecate and her mother but also her father and Broomhead. She loathed remembering the woman, but seven years was a long time to spend with someone, longer than she’d spent with Pippa. 

Hecate and Pippa sat, legs pressed against one another, on the love seat facing the fireplace. Hecate’s mother sat in the armchair next to them. Pippa spoke first. “Your home is lovely Ms. Hardbroom.” 

“That’s Vera to you dear! I dropped the Hardbroom name a long time ago anyway. Vera Willows is my name now my dear.” Hecate’s mother oozed a confidence and calmness that Hecate could never even hope to have. 

Pippa smiled at the older witch. “Well then you’ve got a lovely home Vera.”

It was Hecate who spoke next. “It isn’t a home. It is merely a house.” Her hair slipping around her shoulders as she squared them and looked up to meet her mother’s gaze. 

“Hecate dear-“ 

Hecate held up her free hand that was not on Pippa’s lower back and said, “You know my hatred for frivolous small talk mother. You requested to meet Pippa again and have dinner with us, so here we are. Can we get on to the meal?” 

Pippa, always the peacemaker, wished to mend whatever had broken between the two witches. But Pippa, always trying to find where Hecate’s boundary with her lies, did not wish to overstep, and if it felt like overstepping to Pippa it must feel that way to Hecate. 

Vera took a moment, stared Hecate down before saying, “This way then.”

As the two witches stood to follow Vera Hecate’s arm fell and Pippa laced their fingers together without thought or hesitation. “Are you all right?” Pippa whispered.

Hecate gave a curt nod before taking a deep breath. They ended up in a dining room that could have easily seated 12 if not more, much larger than it needed to be for three people. Vera sat at one end of the table, the head, and Pippa and Hecate sat on either side of her facing each other. 

“Dinner is served,” Vera said with a flick of her wrist, food appearing from the kitchen to directly in front of them. They ate mostly in silence; Hecate not wishing to speak to her mother, Pippa unsure of what to say, and Vera watching them both intensely. 

Finally, breaking the silence, Vera spoke. “So Hecate, tell me about Pippa.”

Hecate, ever the stubborn child, paused and said, “She’s very capable of telling you about herself.” 

“Well I know that Hecate,” Vera sighed. “But she’s your girlfriend and I want to hear what you have to say about her.”

Hecate choked a bit on the soup she was eating. She blushed profusely as she sat straighter in her chair and stuttered, “We aren’t dating.”

It did not help when Pippa looked at her with that face and said, “We aren’t?” 

Vera quirked an eyebrow and looked between the pair settling her eyes on Hecate. “Well dear? The woman wants an answer?” 

Hecate growled, yes growled, and said, “This is none of your concern mother.” She turned to Pippa then, face softening only a miniscule amount. “We can discuss labels of what we are doing later.” 

Pippa seemed okay with her answer, or at least enough not to press the matter any longer. Her mother however was far from done. “Since when have I not been allowed in the discussion of your romantic life?”

Hecate snorted at that and glared at her mother. “For decades mother. “

Vera looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “I’m too old for this darling,” she whispered. 

Hecate’s hands gripped tightly to the table now and she responded, “We are all old, mother. You are not some exception.”

Pippa laughed then, without choice, at Hecate’s comment. The two darker haired witches turned quickly to look at her. “Sorry,” she muttered, holding up a hand. She tried not to laugh but another giggle bubbled its way out as she continued, “I just wanted to say I don’t know whom you’re calling old, but I’m not old.” 

Hecate’s face softened at Pippa’s outburst. “I didn’t mean,” she began to stutter. 

Pippa shook her head to stop her. “It’s alright Hecate. Just please do try not to call me old again.” She reached across the table then, Hecate taking her hand gingerly. 

Vera sighed; breaking whatever trances the two witches were in. “I don’t understand why you insist on being so difficult.”

Hecate’s hand pressed firmly into Pippa’s as she said, “You don’t get to choose when you wish to be a mother. I’ve spent decades of my life without a proper mother, why should you get to decide to start now?”

“I have always been your mother,” Vera exclaimed, standing. “You are the one who wouldn’t let me in when you were in school.”

Hecate released Pippa’s hand and also stood. “And why do you think that is mother?”

Vera rubbed a hand over her wrinkled eyes. “Why Hecate?”

“Do you honestly not remember?” Hecate seethed out, hair slipping around her shoulders as she leaned towards her mother. 

Vera searched her daughter’s face and found no answers. “No Hecate I don’t. Was your childhood really that terrible?”

Hecate did not speak a moment and Pippa stood then, “Hecate?” Pippa whispered.  
Hecate did not respond so Pippa tried harder, standing across from the darker haired witch. “Hiccup?” She said the nickname as a question. When Hecate did not answer she stepped around the table and around Vera to stand at Hecate’s side. 

She placed a hand against her shoulder gingerly and that seemed to be what awoke Hecate. “You might not remember mother, but I can never forget her.”

“Dear Gods Hecate just spit out whatever it is you’re trying to say,” Vera exclaims, throwing up her hands.

That does it for Hecate and her voice, booming from her chest, says, “Broomhead mother! Broomhead happened to me!”

Her mother does not respond initially and Hecate is breathing rather raggedly now, Pippa’s hand against her waist a solid reminder. “She did unspeakable things to me mother and I was nothing more than a child, a young adult for a short time at the end.” 

Her mother still searching for words stutters out, “She was harsh, I understand Hecate, but you make her sound like a- like a murderer of some sort.”

Hecate sighs, “You just don’t get it mother, do you? You might never understand what it is I went through.”

“Tell me then. Why in the name of the Great Wizard won’t you just explain all these things I apparently do not understand?” Her mother is reaching a hand forward suddenly and Hecate does not have the strength or the words to tell her no, not now. 

Luckily Pippa stops her, places her free hand against Vera’s and whispers, “I wouldn’t do that.” 

Hecate takes a breath, does not meet her mother’s eye as she speaks. “She broke me mother. She took pieces of me, pieces I can never get back. She shaped my magic, broke off pieces of it to fit a mold she and father wanted me to fit in. Do you know what that’s like to have someone do that to your magic, to you? I was barely 16 when it started. It wasn’t just magic either mother. She taught me other things I was too young to be taught.”

Her mother’s breath catches as her brows furrow. “You don’t mean? You can’t mean?” She barely even whispers the questions. Hecate says nothing, merely nods her head once in answer. “Why didn’t you tell me dear?” 

Hecate’s eyes flash with anger that had sat there for years upon years and decades upon decades. Pippa tries to soothe her unsuccessfully and finds that she cannot quell the anger there. Suddenly, and without warning, Hecate is gone. She’s transferred away to somewhere that is not in the dining room. 

Vera blinks a few times to make sure she’s understood what exactly has happened. Pippa takes a deep breath and says. “You can’t possibly understand the harm you’ve caused her.” And without giving Vera time to respond Pippa has stormed off in search of Hecate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know your thoughts, hopes, and what you enjoyed! Comments are always welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this leave comments below please! Tell me what you thought! Also, know that I know I took lots of liberties with both their family histories because we know absolutely nothing. Also, fuck Broomhead.


End file.
